Is this true because before I got my pump I was formula feeding for 3 days in the hospital, and they said to give 2 oz. every 2-3 hours. This would not be true for breastmilk right? I managed to pump 4 oz today in one sitting and my son drank it all and burped and did not even spit up. Am I overfeeding my 11 day old son?
July 13th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
For the first few month, at the very least, infants should be fed on demand.
Infants don’t eat because they’re bored. They don’t eat because they’re depressed or upset. Newborns eat when they’re hungry. If your baby is hungry, why deny him food? Just because he’s already had his ounces for the hour? Um, no.
If he’s hungry, feed him. Feed him until he quits eating.
Remember, babies grow FAST the first couple of months. They grow in “fits and starts”, which means that they’ll want more food at certain times and less at others.
July 13th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
I don’t know hun you might need to ask a dr.
July 13th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
If you’re pumping, the “can’t overfeed a breastfed baby” doesn’t apply because your baby is not technically breastfed. He’s being fed from a bottle, in which case you can over feed him.
Why? Because bottles don’t work like breasts do. At your breast, he can actively suck to extract the milk, and suck a bit more mildly to continue stimulating milk production but not actually eat. With a bottle, though, he can get too much milk. He can’t passively suckle on a bottle. Even if his tummy is full (which at the size of a ping-pong ball, it will be after just 2 or so ounces), he may still want to passively suckle for comfort and to stimulate your milk supply (his instincts are for your breasts, not a bottle). Every suck gets him more milk, though, even if he doesn’t want it. So, now he’s full and just wanting to comfort suck, but he’s got this milk in his mouth and he doesn’t know what to do with it, so he swallows it, which causes more to come out. Pretty soon it looks like he’s gulped the whole bottle and was hungry, even though he didn’t want or need it all.
I’m not sure why you’re deciding to pump rather than nurse him directly (you totally can if you want to!), but if you’re going to do it successfully and not stress over low supply (which you probably still will have, but not as badly as you might end up thinking), you have to understand that breast milk and formula are not the same.
Formula remains the same all the time, so babies need to drink more and more of it as they get bigger so they can meet their nutritional needs. Breast milk is dynamic and chances continually to meet the needs of your growing baby. Your body just knows how old your baby is and what kind of milk your baby will need (though not so much if Baby isn’t directly at your breast). Because breast milk changes, breastfed babies will only ever take in a max of about 3-4 ounces per feed. A formula fed baby might need 6, 8, or 10 ounces per feed to get enough nutrition, but your breast milk will be more nutrient dense and provide the same nutrition in about 4 ounces.